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FOR a sport that was meant to be on the floor at the beginning of the year, boxing finishes 2007 very much alive and kicking.
But I believe the last 12 months have been just the start of a renaissance that will continue to gather pace in 2008.
Boxing is one of the few sports able to challenge football in popularity and it has done so on at least two occasions in the UK this year.
First, when Joe Calzaghe beat Mikkel Kessler to unify the super-middleweight division in November, then when Ricky Hatton challenged Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Football will not be knocked off top spot but is there an increasing dissatisfaction among the public with the antics of Premier League stars?
Only this week, Manchester United’s Christmas party was on the front pages for all the wrong reasons after a **** allegation against one of the squad’s junior players.
Is it coincidence boxers like Hatton and Calzaghe — who are far more down to earth and seem to have a better connection with the man on the street — are enjoying a sudden surge in popularity?
Fittingly, Calzaghe capped a great 2007 for boxing when he won BBC Sports Personality of the Year — and I couldn’t think of a better role model for youngsters to follow.
You don’t see Joe covering himself in bling, partying the night away surrounded by yes men and making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Would Joe get caught urinating on the floor of a night club? You may not even see him there, as he prefers a quiet night in with his family.
But it’s not just stars like Calzaghe who have given the sport a massive boost. Britain finishes the year with more world champions than ever before — both professional and amateur.
Thanks to the funding now being pumped into the amateur sport, we produced our first-ever world champ in a headguard — lightweight Frankie Gavin, who is set for a medal at the 2008 Olympics.
With at least three other fighters with him in Beijing, we could get a record medal haul.
UFC made a big noise at the start of 2007 but by the end of the year, the only combat sport people were talking about was boxing.
So what were my 2007 highlights?
In beating Oscar De La Hoya and Hatton, Pretty Boy Mayweather proved himself to be a modern-day great.
But as I’ve said before, I don’t think he’d have beaten the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard or Roberto Duran.
The most spectacular knockout of 2007 has to be Michael Sprott’s brutal stoppage of Audley Harrison.
Amir Khan showed massive heart in climbing off the floor to beat Willie Limond, while last week’s Alex Arthur and Steve Foster ruck was a mini-classic.
Mayweather’s display against Hatton was punch perfect but for me, and I know I’m biased, Calzaghe’s performance against Kessler was the best anywhere in the world.
It was a wonderful performance from one of boxing’s true warriors
But I believe the last 12 months have been just the start of a renaissance that will continue to gather pace in 2008.
Boxing is one of the few sports able to challenge football in popularity and it has done so on at least two occasions in the UK this year.
First, when Joe Calzaghe beat Mikkel Kessler to unify the super-middleweight division in November, then when Ricky Hatton challenged Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Football will not be knocked off top spot but is there an increasing dissatisfaction among the public with the antics of Premier League stars?
Only this week, Manchester United’s Christmas party was on the front pages for all the wrong reasons after a **** allegation against one of the squad’s junior players.
Is it coincidence boxers like Hatton and Calzaghe — who are far more down to earth and seem to have a better connection with the man on the street — are enjoying a sudden surge in popularity?
Fittingly, Calzaghe capped a great 2007 for boxing when he won BBC Sports Personality of the Year — and I couldn’t think of a better role model for youngsters to follow.
You don’t see Joe covering himself in bling, partying the night away surrounded by yes men and making headlines for the wrong reasons.
Would Joe get caught urinating on the floor of a night club? You may not even see him there, as he prefers a quiet night in with his family.
But it’s not just stars like Calzaghe who have given the sport a massive boost. Britain finishes the year with more world champions than ever before — both professional and amateur.
Thanks to the funding now being pumped into the amateur sport, we produced our first-ever world champ in a headguard — lightweight Frankie Gavin, who is set for a medal at the 2008 Olympics.
With at least three other fighters with him in Beijing, we could get a record medal haul.
UFC made a big noise at the start of 2007 but by the end of the year, the only combat sport people were talking about was boxing.
So what were my 2007 highlights?
In beating Oscar De La Hoya and Hatton, Pretty Boy Mayweather proved himself to be a modern-day great.
But as I’ve said before, I don’t think he’d have beaten the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard or Roberto Duran.
The most spectacular knockout of 2007 has to be Michael Sprott’s brutal stoppage of Audley Harrison.
Amir Khan showed massive heart in climbing off the floor to beat Willie Limond, while last week’s Alex Arthur and Steve Foster ruck was a mini-classic.
Mayweather’s display against Hatton was punch perfect but for me, and I know I’m biased, Calzaghe’s performance against Kessler was the best anywhere in the world.
It was a wonderful performance from one of boxing’s true warriors
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